Rise of the Guardian of Camelot
by SH4D3YM
Summary: It has been a year since Merlin returned to Camelot and stopped Morgana from taking over. During that year, peace was all Camelot had, but now evil has risen again. A man who can control shadows has found Merlin and will stop at nothing to kill him. Merlin has to defeat this man, and protect Camelot from Morgana, all without the help of Camelot. Sequel to The Guardian of Camelot.
1. Celebration

Merlin puts his sword up to block Arthur's attack. Arthur pulls his sword away quickly from Merlin's sword and jabs at Merlin's chest. Merlin parries Arthur's sword, but before his sword touches Arthur, Arthur swings his arms upward, making Merlin and Arthur back away from each other. The crowd in the stands cheer for the fight. Merlin and Arthur circle around each other, waiting for the other to attack.

It was Arthur who suggested that they fight to entertain the citizens of Camelot. Now here they are with wooden swords, trying to beat the other. Gwen and Sophia were in the royal family part of the stands, clapping occasionally for show, but both looking worried. Next to them in the part of the stands where knights sit were Elyan, Gwaine, Leon, Lancelot, and Percival, constantly cheering, clapping, and laughing.

Arthur hurried forward and assaulted Merlin with multiple attacks to Merlin's body and head. Merlin blocked every attack from Arthur with speed that impressed himself. When Merlin blocked Arthur's last attack, Merlin pushed Arthur's sword away and punched Arthur in the stomach. The crowd cheered even louder, smiling and laughing at the fight. Arthur, grabbing at the spot where Merlin punched, stepped closer to Merlin, his sword at his side.

"You don't need to be so rough." Arthur says.

Merlin smiles, "It's got to be entertaining, doesn't it?"

Arthur sighs and swings his sword at Merlin's arm. Merlin meets Arthur's sword and they knock against each other in the air. Merlin arcs his sword at Arthur and Arthur blocks Merlin's attack. For a second, the two are using their strength to try and break the standstill that prevents them from continuing to fight. They are evenly matched in strength. Then Merlin turns his head and sees it.

What looks like a shadow runs across the side of the arena and out the exit. A shadow that belongs to no one in the stands, nor Arthur or Merlin. Merlin is so focused on the moving shadow that he doesn't realize Arthur is preparing to attack him until it is too late. Arthur's wooden sword Merlin full in the face, on his left cheek. Merlin falls to the ground, vaguely aware of the people in the stands cheering, the last thing he sees is the shadow staring at him.

* * *

"Stop squirming!" Sophia tells Merlin as she brushes a cold, wet towel over his cheek. The cheek Arthur hit.

"It hurts." Merlin says.

"Well, then you shouldn't have gotten hit." Sophia chuckles.

"Or you could be lighter with your touch." Merlin mutters. Sophia hits his arm and Merlin smiles, "Besides, Arthur only won because I saw something."

"And what is it that you saw?" Gaius asks walking inside Merlin and Sophia's chambers.

Merlin thought back to the minute before the fight ended. What had he seen? Was it a shadow that moved on its own? A creature of magic? Merlin decided to simply say, "A shadow."

"A shadow?" Sophia asks, taking the towel off Merlin and washing the small bit of blood on it. Sophia wets the towel again and brings it back to Merlin's face. Merlin winces at the touch.

"And what was it that this shadow was doing?" Gaius asks, taking a potion out of his medicine bag.

"It was moving across the arena, but it didn't belong to anyone." Merlin says noticing Gaius' and Sophia's questioning expressions. "And when I was knocked out, the shadow… it seemed like it was staring at me."

Merlin looks to Gaius for an answer. Gaius looks deep in thought at what Merlin said. Gaius finally says, "There is a type of magic that let someone turn into a shadow, control other shadows, transport to different destinations when the caster stands in shadows, and create shadows of their own. It was called Shadow Sorcery."

Gaius looks down at his medicine bag and starts fiddling with potions and herbs. "But it can't be what you saw."

"Why not?" Merlin asks, gently taking Sophia's hand from his head and standing up.

Gaius looks up at him, "Because the Shadow Sorcerers were hunted down years ago. Uther went to their villages and slaughtered them. But, even I agree with the destruction of _that_ magic. It was truly, dark magic."

"How was it dark magic?" Sophia speaks up. "It seems harmless, almost like a beneficial magic really."

"Yes, it is very beneficial." Gaius says. "But only to the caster. You see, whenever someone saw the magic in use that meant that the person was going to be hunted down and killed. The Shadow Sorcerers were assassins, killed anyone that they thought was above them in magical skill. To kill those above the caster that was the only time Shadow Sorcery was used. It is a selfish magic just as much as it is a beneficial magic."

"So you think Uther was right to kill the Shadow Sorcerers?" Merlin asks.

Gaius nods, "Yes. But before you say anything else, know that Uther killed them before he outlawed magic. The Shadow Sorcerers were the true reason that everyone immediately sided with Uther when magic was officially outlawed."

"But if they were all destroyed, what did I see?"

Gaius sighs and thinks for a moment, "I do not know. But if it was truly a Shadow Sorcerer, you must be very careful Merlin. It is not in the nature of the Shadow Sorcerers to give up, they are quite relentless when it comes to the people they have marked for death."

* * *

Merlin sits in the great hall at the head table with Arthur to his left and Sophia to his right in his Camelot knight armor, but instead of a red cloak he has his black one. At the moment, everyone is eating their dinner, but after that the celebration will start. The celebration is for Arthur's 28th birthday. Gwen and Sophia came up with the idea for celebrating his birthday, but they have not yet told Arthur or Merlin how they will be celebrating it.

Arthur eats the last bite of his food and Gwen, who is sitting to Arthur's left, stands up. "Alright everyone, please stand," She says. Everyone stands, some reluctant because they want to finish their food, and waits for their queen to continue. "Servants, please clear the tables and move them out of the room."

The many servants in the room listen and begin clearing the tables. Merlin smiles from remembering how he was once one of them and hands his plate and goblet to the servant that went to him. Then the servant gets everyone else's plates and goblets before going to the kitchens. When the dishes are gone, the servants move the tables out of the room and leave the room again and four men walk in with instruments and take place in the corner of the room.

"What is going on Guinevere?" Merlin hears Arthur asks Gwen.

"You'll see." Gwen says and turns to the people waiting. "Welcome to the celebration of King Arthur's birth. Now, to celebrate we will dance."

Gwen turns to the four men that Merlin now realizes as the band and cues them to start playing music. When the music starts, Gwen grab Arthur by the hand and leads him to the center of the great hall, and they dance. Sophia grabs Merlin's hand and leads him next to Arthur and Gwen, and begins to dance with him as well. Merlin looks around and sees that the people, who are standing at the edges of the room stare, but they don't join the dancing.

Sophia brings Merlin's attention back to her and leads him for a few steps before he takes the lead and spins her around before taking her right hand back into his left hand. Merlin sees the smile she has on her face and smiles too. Merlin steps back with his right foot and Sophia steps forward with her left foot, and Merlin spins her, letting her rotate completely twice before stopping her and continuing to dance. Merlin is vaguely aware of the chuckles from the men in the room, the swooning of the women, and the staring from all. The only thing he really focuses on is his lovely wife.

That is, before he hears the scream…


	2. Morgana's Labyrinth

Merlin runs with Arthur and about ten knights and six guards towards the scream. Gwen and Sophia stayed in the great hall to try to calm the crowd and make sure nothing bad happens to them. Merlin and Arthur turn a corner and run to the set of doors in front of them, the doors that open to reveal the throne room. Two of the guards push them open, and everyone runs inside. The doors shut automatically behind them, and instead of seeing the throne room, they see the corridor they were just in.

Swords start to slide from their sheaths, Merlin has his sword in his hand and a spell on his tongue, ready to fight. A cackle surrounds the corridor and a familiar voice that sounds like it's in Merlin's head says, "Hello, knights of Camelot. Hello, brother, how have you been all this time?"

"Morgana," Merlin whispers.

"Oh, Emrys!" Morgana's voice says. "Sorry, I didn't see you."

"Morgana! What do you want?" Arthur yells, spinning around and looking for her as he does.

Morgana chuckles, "That, Arthur, is an excellent question. You see, I have been coming up with ways to kill you this past year, then it struck me. Why kill you when I can torture you without even touching you? So, I have created this Labyrinth that is designed to change and trick you. I also put in a few little _surprises_. If you can escape, I'll leave. And just to give you some incentive, I have wounded an innocent nobleman's wife that was the scream you heard. But be warned Arthur, for I will come back soon with another form of torture."

Morgana's voice begins to cackle again, "Good luck everyone, I hope you don't die."

Merlin feels Morgana's presence leave the room, and his shoulders, which were tensed, relax a little. Suddenly, six doors on each side of the corridor appear. Arthur turns to his group of knights and guards. "You all already know what we have to do, escape this labyrinth and help the wounded woman. Follow me!"

Arthur runs over to the third door on the left and barrels through, almost breaking the door from the hinges. Merlin follows close behind with Lancelot and Gwaine on his heels. The door opens to reveal the same corridor, except this new one has only three doors on each side. Arthur is fazed little by this and runs to the first door on the right. When Arthur, Merlin, Leon, Lancelot, Percival, Elyan, and Gwaine make it through the door, it automatically closes, shutting them off from the rest of the knights and guards.

"What now?" Gwaine asks.

"Arthur," Elyan, who was looking ahead of them instead of at the door, says. "Look at this."

Arthur, Merlin, and the knights turn to see what Elyan was talking about. Merlin feels his mouth open at the sight before him. In front of them was the great hall, except there was no music, no sound at all actually, and the light from the windows was the only thing that made it possible to see. Hung from the ceiling were the people at Arthur's birthday celebration.

Merlin and the knights walked forward, looking at the faces of all the people that are hung. Merlin stops, however, when he gets to the center of the great hall and sees a face looking down at him. Sophia. Her once lively chocolate brown eyes were blank and empty, her face was pale and gaunt.

Merlin reaches up and grabs his wife's hand. Merlin knew this wasn't real, but he could barely stand to see his wife's dead body. To see all the life leave her. Morgana must've locked Merlin and the knights in here to throw them off and distract them. Merlin felt a new hatred for Morgana burning in his bones, in his blood, in his soul. But Merlin knew that he couldn't stew in his own emotions while an innocent woman was about to really die.

"It's not real," Merlin says, turning away from Sophia's corpse to face the knights. "We have to keep going."

"He's right," Arthur says. "Let's go through that door." Arthur points at a door that is close to the end of the great hall on the right wall.

"Alright, lead on then," Lancelot says.

Arthur goes towards the door, walking cautiously instead of running like he was before, and tries to open the door slowly, but it swings open as soon as he touches it. Arthur jumps back and points his sword at the darkness that surrounds the room that the door leads to. Merlin can't see what is beyond the threshold of the door, but he does know that it is nowhere near the end of the labyrinth.

Arthur walks into the darkness, followed by Lancelot, then Leon, then Gwaine, then Elyan, then Percival. Merlin is about to walk through the door, but he takes a second to look back at the hanging bodies. Suddenly, the door behind him swings shut and he is trapped in the hall with the dead bodies all by himself. Merlin bangs on the door as hard as he can, trying to get the attention of Arthur, or one of the knights, but it is no use and no answer comes from any of them.

Morgana's cackle appears in his head again. "It is not wise to dwell, Emrys. However, I will not kill you, no… I'll give you a choice."

Merlin glares at the wall, pretending that Morgana was standing in front of it. He asks, "And what is this choice?"

"If you promise to leave Camelot for the rest of your life and never protect, I will spare Arthur's life when I take over. I will not hunt you, and I will not execute anyone close to you. That is what you get if you leave," Morgana says.

"And if I choose to stay?" Merlin asks, still glaring at the wall.

"Then I will continue trying to kill Arthur, I will attack Camelot, not only with tricks, but armies as well. I will kill all those loyal to Arthur, and all those loyal to you. I will destroy your magic and kill you," Morgana says. "So, what will you choose?"

Merlin thinks about this, he is really thinking about leaving. He's done it before, and Arthur will still be alive if he does. _No_ , Merlin thinks, _I can't just leave. The Shadow Sorcerer is still hunting me and I can't guarantee that Morgana will keep her promise about not killing Arthur._ Merlin has made his decision. "I will not leave because you want me to," Merlin tells Morgana.

Morgana says, "Fine, but be warned, you have brought forth a force that can and will destroy Camelot."

Morgana's presence disappears from Merlin's mind. Merlin turns and sees that the door he used to get into this room is open, but none of the guards or knights come out. Merlin sees that he has no other choice and walks forward to the door and passes through the threshold. The door shuts behind him and he is trapped in the room. But what he is in can't be called a room because it's too big. In front of Merlin is a chamber with stone walls, and a tiled stone floor. Along the sides of the chamber are little, which Merlin can only guess are for traps.

Merlin steps on one of the tiles in front of him and arrows shoot at him from the holes in the walls on the left and right. Merlin puts his hand up and wills the arrows to move around him with his magic. The arrows shatter when they hit the opposite stone walls. Merlin steps forward diagonally to the right and no arrows shoot at him. Merlin works his way through the chamber, sometimes not getting shot at, and other times he would have to use his magic to stop the arrows from killing him. But eventually he gets to the other side of the chamber and walks through the door that was there.

Merlin is in the throne room, he thought at first that it was part of the labyrinth, but when he sees a blood stain and the real Morgana in front of him with a bleeding woman in front of her, he knows he has escaped the labyrinth. Morgan sees him and smiles, "Congratulations, Emrys. You have escaped the labyrinth, but unfortunately you didn't do it in enough time to save the noblemen's wife."

Merlin looks down at the woman and sees the same pale, and blank face he saw on Sophia's face back in the great hall room. Merlin looks back at Morgana, "Where is Arthur, and the others?"

"They will be here shortly, Emrys. But like I promised, you have chosen a path that will lead to the destruction of Camelot," Morgana says. Wind begins to swirl around Morgana and cover her, making it look like she is in a wind storm, and then it disappears and she is gone. However, Morgana's voice says in Merlin's head, "Goodbye. I wish you better luck for next time."

Merlin walks forward to the dead woman's body. He could barely stand to see it, but he still examined her. She didn't look familiar, but her death still had the same impact on Merlin, she was dead because of him. Tonight, Merlin had failed. But he is pulled from his thoughts when he sees a shadow that belongs to no one looking in on him from the window.


End file.
